Methods and systems for contactless payments at a merchant

ABSTRACT

A coordination server of a contactless payment system may receive a total bill of purchases for a customer from a merchant POS terminal, associate the total bill of purchases with a unique identifier of an RFID tag of a check presenter, and receive notification that payment of the total bill of purchases is authorized. The coordination server may receive the unique identifier and payment information from a contactless-enabled device, and transmit the payment information and the total bill to the merchant POS terminal for transmittal to a merchant acquirer for completion of the transaction under business as usual standards. In one embodiment, the coordination server transmits the payment information and the total bill to a merchant acquirer, which then routes the payment request to an appropriate payment network. In another embodiment, the coordination server transmits the payment information and the total bill directly to the appropriate payment network.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation-in-part application of U.S.application Ser. No. 12/758,942, entitled “METHODS AND SYSTEMS FORCONTACTLESS PAYMENTS,” which was filed on Aug. 23, 2011, and which ishereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

FIELD

The present disclosure generally relates to contactless payments in aretail environment. More particularly, the present disclosure relates tomethods, systems and computer program products for contactless paymentsat a restaurant merchant.

BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE

In a typical merchant transaction at a restaurant, a consumer receives abill at the end of the dining experience and submits a form of payment.The form of payment may be cash, check, debit card, charge card orcredit card. If a debit card or credit card is provided by the consumer,an employee takes the card to a point-of-sale terminal and processes thecard to obtain authorization for receiving payment for the bill. Thepoint-of-sale terminal is generally out of sight from the consumer andit takes a period of time for the employee to process the card. Theconsumer may be concerned that the employee is retaining credit cardinformation while out of sight.

Furthermore, it is very common for a group of consumers to decide to payfor only a portion of the total bill. The restaurant employee may dividethe total bill into multiple bills for people to pay, though this takesadditional time for the employee and increases the chance of making amistake on the bill. Alternatively, the restaurant employee may onlyprovide a total bill, and then process various amounts on multiple cardsin order to satisfy payment. Again, dividing payment of a total billamongst multiple cards increases the risk of a mistake.

In light of the foregoing, there exists a need for a system, methodand/or computer program product that provides a consumer the security ofmaintaining physical possession of a credit card, increases efficiencyof a restaurant by lowering bill payment wait times, and decreases thechances of a billing mistake when multiple funding sources are used tosatisfy payment.

SUMMARY

In various embodiments, a contactless payment system for merchanttransactions (e.g., a restaurant), comprises generating, at thecontactless payment system, a total bill of purchases associated with aconsumer, associating a unique identifier of a radio frequencyidentification (RFID) tag with the total bill, transmitting the totalbill and associated unique identifier to a consumer accessible paymentnetwork, and receiving payment from the consumer for satisfaction of thetotal bill. The consumer may submit the payment using acontactless-enabled device, such as a smartphone for example. Thecontactless-enabled device may interrogate the RFID tag to receive theunique identifier and a payment network link. Furthermore, thecontactless-enabled device may submit a payment transaction request tothe payment network, where the payment transaction request includes theunique identifier and an account identifier. Additionally, the paymentnetwork receives the payment transaction request and locates the totalbill using the unique identifier as a key. In various embodiments, theRFID tag is replaced with (or used in addition to) a QR code.

In various embodiments, a coordination server of a contactless paymentsystem performs operations comprising receiving, at the coordinationserver, a total bill of purchases for a customer from a merchantpoint-of-sale terminal, associating the total bill of purchases with aunique identifier of a radio frequency identification tag of a checkpresenter, and receiving notification that payment of the total bill ofpurchases is authorized. Additionally, the coordination server may actas the primary coordination point for dividing a bill of sale andensuring that all partial payments by customers satisfy the totaloutstanding bill. The coordination server may be integrated into themerchant point-of-sale terminal, or the coordination server may beseparate from the merchant point-of-sale terminal. In other embodiments,the coordination server may reside at the merchant's location, or at anissuer facility.

Furthermore, in various embodiments, the coordination server receivesthe unique identifier of the RFID tag and payment information from acontactless-enabled device. The total bill may be located using theunique identifier as a key, and the coordination server transmits thepayment information and the total bill to the merchant point-of-saleterminal. The merchant point-of-sale terminal may be configured totransmit the payment information and the total bill to a merchantacquirer for completion of the transaction under business as usualstandards.

In various other embodiments, the coordination server receives theunique identifier of the RFID tag and payment information from acontactless-enabled device, locates the total bill using the uniqueidentifier as a key, and transmits the payment information and the totalbill to a merchant acquirer, which then routes the payment request to anappropriate payment network. The appropriate payment network is selectedbased on the payment information from the contactless-enabled device. Inanother embodiment, the coordination server transmits the paymentinformation and the total bill directly to the appropriate paymentnetwork.

To help facilitate the contactless merchant transaction, an exemplarycheck presenter apparatus may be used. The check presenter apparatus mayinclude a radio frequency identifier (RFID) tag with a uniqueidentifier, where the unique identifier is associated with a total billat a coordination server. A contactless-enabled device in proximity tothe check presenter apparatus may read the unique identifier from theRFID tag, and transmit payment information and the unique identifier tofacilitate contactless payment of the total bill. In variousembodiments, the check presenter apparatus comprises a quick response(QR) code with a unique identifier, where the unique identifier isassociated with a total bill at the coordination server. Thecontactless-enabled device in proximity to the check presenter apparatusmay read the unique identifier from the QR code, and transmit paymentinformation and the unique identifier to facilitate contactless paymentof the total bill.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The features and advantages of the present disclosure will become moreapparent from the detailed description set forth below when taken inconjunction with the drawings, in which like reference numbers indicateidentical or functionally similar elements. Additionally, the left-mostdigit of a reference number identifies the drawing in which thereference number first appears.

FIG. 1 is an overview of an exemplary system for conducting contactlesspayments in a merchant transaction environment;

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating one exemplary process of conductingcontactless payments in a merchant transaction environment;

FIG. 3 is an embodiment of a process of conducting contactless paymentsin a merchant transaction environment using an RFID tag;

FIG. 4 is an embodiment of a process of conducting contactless paymentsin a merchant transaction environment using a QR code;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process of dividingpayment of a payment among multiple contactless-enabled devices in amerchant transaction environment;

FIG. 6 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of facilitating itemizedselection of purchases using QR codes;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process of conductingcontactless payments in a merchant transaction environment using acoordination server with payment processor;

FIG. 8 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of a coordination server;

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process of conductingcontactless payments in a merchant transaction environment using acoordination server;

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process of conductingcontactless payments in a merchant transaction environment using acoordination server for routing payment;

FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process of conductingcontactless payments in a merchant transaction environment using apayment gateway;

FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process of conductingcontactless payments in a merchant transaction environment using atablet computer; and

FIG. 13 is a block diagram of an exemplary embodiment of a computersystem.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In various embodiments, a system, method and/or computer program productfor conducting a contactless merchant transaction is disclosed. Althoughthese exemplary embodiments may be used in different merchantenvironments, the embodiments discussed herein will be described as anexample with respect to a restaurant environment, though not limited tosuch. FIG. 1 is an overview of an exemplary system 100 for conducting acontactless restaurant transaction. In various embodiments, system 100comprises a check presenter having a radio frequency identification(RFID) tag 110, a contactless-enabled device 120 having consumerinformation, a merchant system 130, and an authorization system 140. Thecheck presenter with RFID tag 110 may be a standard check presenter,typically a small black bi-fold holder, which includes an RFID tag.Furthermore, the RFID tag may be internal to the check presenter 110 ormay be removably coupled to the check presenter 110. The RFID tag may bea passive tag that is powered by a nearby reader, such as thecontactless-enabled device 120. In various embodiments, the checkpresenter 110 is a tablet computer operated primary by a touch screen,such as an iPad. Authorization system 140 may include any entity thatoffers transaction account services, such as a financial institution.

In various embodiments, system 100 further comprises a payment network150. The payment network 150 facilitates receiving payment authorizationfrom one or more authorization systems 140, and providing notificationsto merchant system 130. In various embodiments, payment network 150 maybe a stand-alone network separate from merchant system 130 andauthorization system 140. Furthermore, in various embodiments, paymentnetwork 150 may be a part of merchant system 130 or a part ofauthorization system 140. Payment network 150 is a central network whichcommunicates with various systems and may communicate withcontactless-enabled devices 120. Payment network 150 may be aproprietary network operated by merchant system 130 or authorizationsystem 140. Moreover, payment network 150 may be operated by a thirdparty provider and may be associated with multiple merchant systems 130and/or multiple authorization systems 140.

Merchant system 130 may comprise any type of hardware and/or software(e.g., a computer server) configured or configurable to generate and/ordisplay an invoice for services provided or goods purchased. In variousembodiments, merchant system 130 generates the total bill at the end ofa meal in a restaurant. In exemplary embodiments, each check presenterwith RFID tag 110 has a unique identifier. The merchant system 130 thenassociates the total bill with the unique identifier of the RFID tag110. Merchant system 130 loads the total bill and unique identifier ontoa network accessible by the consumer. The accessible network may be awebsite operated by the merchant system 130 or a website operated by athird party. The merchant system 130 may load the total bill to theappropriate check presenter using the unique identifier. The uniqueidentifier also helps the merchant system 130 track receipt of paymentfor separate bills.

The system 100 may include or interface with any of the foregoingaccounts or devices, a contactless-enabled device 120 (e.g., an RFdevice) and RFID tag in communication with the contactless-enableddevice 120 (which may include a fob), or communications between aninitiator and a target enabled by near field communications (NFC).Typical contactless-enabled devices 120 may include, for example, a keyring, tag, card, cell phone, wristwatch or any such form capable ofbeing presented for interrogation. Moreover, the system, computing unitor device discussed herein may include a “pervasive computing device,”which may include a traditionally non-computerized device that isembedded with a computing unit. Examples may include watches, Internetenabled kitchen appliances, restaurant tables embedded with RF readers,wallets or purses with imbedded transponders, etc. Furthermore, a deviceor financial transaction instrument may have electronic andcommunications functionality enabled, for example, by: a network ofelectronic circuitry that is printed or otherwise incorporated onto orwithin the transaction instrument (and typically referred to as a “smartcard”); a fob having a transponder and an RFID reader; and/or near fieldcommunication (NFC) technologies. For more information regarding NFC,refer to the following specifications all of which are incorporated byreference herein: ISO/IEC 18092/ECMA-340, Near Field CommunicationInterface and Protocol-1 (NFCIP-1); ISO/IEC 21481/ECMA-352, Near FieldCommunication Interface and Protocol-2 (NFCIP-2); and EMV 4.2 availableat http://www.emvco.com/default.aspx.

With reference to FIG. 2, an exemplary method may include the followingsteps. Once a consumer finishes ordering items from a restaurant 201,the total bill of the items purchased during the dining experience maybe generated by a merchant system 202. The merchant system associates anRFID tag with the total bill 203, and then loads the total bill onto aconsumer accessible payment network 204. Each RFID tag may have a uniqueidentifier, such as a serial number, which is used to associate the RFIDtag with the bill. The check presenter is given to the consumer, who hasmultiple options to pay the total bill. The options include cash, check,providing a transaction account card, or submitting payment using acontactless-enabled device 205.

With reference to FIG. 3, in order to submit payment using thecontactless-enabled device, the consumer may provide account informationby “tapping” the contactless-enabled device 120 with check presenterhaving the RFID tag 110 (step 301). The “tapping” motion means placingthe contactless-enabled device 120 in close proximity to the RFID tag inorder for an RF transponder of the contactless-enabled device 120 tocommunicate. This may include physically touching thecontactless-enabled device 120 to the RFID tag, or at least placing thecontactless-enabled device 120 in close enough proximity to enable aninterrogation signal to power the RFID tag and receive the uniqueidentifier and a link to an accessible network (step 302). In variousembodiments, the contactless-enabled device 120 accesses the networkusing the received link. The unique identifier is provided by thecontactless-enabled device to the network, where the unique identifieris used as a key to locate the consumer's bill (step 303). Once thetotal bill is retrieved, the consumer may submit a payment request to anauthorization system using the contactless-enabled device 120 (step304).

In various embodiments and with reference to FIG. 4, check presenter 110includes a Quick Response (QR) code in place of, or in addition to, anRFID tag. With the QR code, the contactless-enabled device 120 does notneed to be an RF-enabled device, but instead only needs a camera and theappropriate software to “read” the QR code (step 401). The QR code maylink the contactless-enabled device 120 to a website where theappropriate payment may be made to the restaurant bill (step 402). Apart of the information provided by reading the QR code may include aunique identifier associated with the total bill (step 403). In using aQR code to generate contactless payments, the merchant system 130provides the total bill to the payment website prior to thecontactless-enabled device 120 linking to the total bill. The paymentwebsite may be operated by the merchant system 130 or by a third partyentity. Once the total bill is retrieved, the consumer may submit apayment request to an authorization system using the contactless-enableddevice 120 (step 404).

In various exemplary embodiments, whether the contactless-enabled device120 accesses the total bill via an RFID tag or a QR code, a consumer isable to pay the total bill using account information stored on thecontactless-enabled device 120. Furthermore, the contactless-enableddevice 120 may store multiple accounts which the consumer may selectfrom to make the payment. In exemplary embodiment, thecontactless-enabled device 120 is a smart phone with a graphical userinterface. Moreover, the consumer accesses the total bill and is able toadd a tip if desired. The consumer selects which account is to be usedand then proceeds to submit payment similar to an online transaction.For additional information regarding contactless payments in an onlinetransaction, please see U.S. application Ser. No. 13/215,111, entitled“METHODS AND SYSTEMS FOR CONTACTLESS PAYMENTS FOR ONLINE ECOMMERCECHECKOUT,” filed on Aug. 22, 2011, which is incorporated by reference.

In various embodiments, a check presenter includes a smart RFID taginstead of, or in addition to, a passive RFID tag. The smart RFID tagmay be configured to store one or more of a unique identifier, atransaction identifier, and transaction information. The transactioninformation, for example, may include the amount due and merchantinformation. In the various embodiments, this additional informationallows a consumer to pay the total bill using a financial institution ofthe consumer's choosing. For example, the consumer can provide theinformation to a personal bank, where the bank receives the amount dueand the merchant information, along with a consumer identifier. Once theconsumer is identified and verified, the bank may approve thetransaction and submit payment of the amount due to the merchant ofrecord as indicated by the merchant information. Such a transaction hasadditional security in that the consumer's account number is nevertransmitted during the processing.

In various embodiments, the manner in which the contactless-enableddevice 120, (having an RF transponder) is tapped corresponds todifferent information on the contactless-enabled device 120. Thecontactless-enabled device 120 may be “tapped” with an active RFID tagby waving the contactless-enabled device in close proximity, where thewaving with a gesture formation is an identifier. For example, wavingthe contactless-enabled device with a gesture formation in the form of acircular shape may result in the population of the online transactionfields using a first set of data. Likewise, waving thecontactless-enabled device with a gesture formation in the form of asquare yields similar results and population of the online transactionfields using a second set of data. For example, the first set of datamay be the account information of the consumer's American Express creditcard. The second set of data may be the account information of theconsumer's Visa credit card. In another example, the first set of datamay contain the consumer's home address as the shipping address, whereasthe second set of data may contain the consumer's work address as theshipping address. For more information regarding a gesture formationidentifier, refer to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/168,072,entitled “SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR GESTURE-BASED INTERACTION WITHCOMPUTER SYSTEMS,” filed Jun. 24, 2011, which is hereby incorporated byreference.

In addition to a gesture being an identifier a voice activated phrasemay also be an identifier. In various embodiments, a consumer may haveto speak a specific phrase into the RF device to unlock the ability toinitiate a transaction. Each phrase may be linked to accountinformation. Speaking the specific phrase unlocks thecontactless-enabled device so that the contactless-enabled device andstored information is available next time the contactless-enabled deviceis tapped or a QR code accessed. This unlocking phrase increases thedevice security and prevents the contactless-enabled device fromtransmitting information unintentionally or if an unauthorized reader isattempting to access the information. Furthermore, the device securitymay be enhanced by requiring that it is the consumer's voice that speaksthe phrase.

As is common with groups of people dining together at a restaurant, thetotal bill may be divided amongst individuals or sub-groups of people.As stated earlier, dividing the total bill takes additional time andpresents the opportunity for a mistake to be made. In accordance withvarious exemplary embodiments and with reference to FIG. 5, one or morecontactless-enabled devices 120 may be used to help divide the totalbill in any way desired (step 501). One such embodiment involvesmultiple contactless-enabled devices 120 each tapping the checkpresenter having the RFID tag 110, where the RFID tag is an active tag.The merchant system 130 or a third party entity operating the paymentwebsite may be given notice that the total bill will be divided amongconsumers. The notice may be given in various ways, including pressing abutton on the check presenter. The button may be pressed a certainnumber of times, each press indicating the number of people splittingthe total bill. For example, if three consumers decide to divide thetotal bill, then the button is pressed three times. Each of the threeconsumers must then tap their respective contactless-enabled devices 120with the check presenter with RFID tag 110. In various embodiments, thethree contactless-enabled devices 120 of the consumers are tapped withina certain amount of time, such as one minute. If the indicated number ofcontactless-enabled devices are not presented within the specifiedamount of time, the payment transaction may be cancelled and the paymentprocess restarted. In various embodiments, the notice of multiple payorsmay be given to the merchant system 130 by double tapping the RFID tag110.

Similarly, various embodiments involve multiple contactless-enableddevices 120 each tapping the check presenter having the RFID tag 110,where the RFID tag is a passive tag. With the passive tag, multiplecontactless-enabled devices 120 may individually interrogate and readthe passive tag. The contactless-enabled devices 120 may then interactwith the payment network 150 to coordinate payment of the total billusing multiple funding sources. In various embodiments, each of themultiple contactless-enabled devices 120 provide notice to the paymentnetwork 150 that at least partial payment will be provide from afinancial account associated with each of the multiplecontactless-enabled devices 120.

Furthermore, the total bill may be divided using profile informationabout each consumer, randomly generated amounts, alternating amounts(e.g., different person pays a different percentage each time theyattend the particular restaurant or a different restaurant with asimilar group of people), escalating amounts, decreasing amounts, by aformula, by rules, etc. In various embodiments, the total bill may bedivided equally amongst the number of payors or a specific amount toeach payor (step 502). If the total bill is divided equally, each payorusing their individual contactless-enabled devices 120 to submit apayment request using the provided information, namely the payor's equalshare of the total bill and a merchant identifier (step 503). If thetotal bill is divided by specific amounts to each payor, the divisionmay take place at one or more contactless-enabled devices 120 or thepayment website. Allocation of the total bill among multiple devices mayoccur by each payor inputting a desired transaction amount beforesubmitting the transaction request (step 505). Alternatively, allocationof the total bill among multiple devices may occur based on a divisionof an itemized purchase list (step 506). The payment website thentallies the submitted transaction amounts and compares to the total bill(step 507). If the total submitted transaction amount is greater thanthe total bill, then a notice of satisfactory payment is transmitted tothe merchant system and/or the multiple contactless-enabled devices 120(step 508). If the total submitted transaction amount is less than thetotal bill, then a notice of the remaining amount is transmitted to themultiple contactless-enabled devices 120 (step 509). In anotherembodiment, one of the multiple contactless-enabled devices 120 isdeemed a “main” device and the remaining devices are “secondary”devices. The main device is the organizer of the multiplecontactless-enabled devices 120 and tracks the total transaction amountsubmitted. For example, the main device may show a total bill amount andthen an updated amount as transaction amounts are submitted byindividual secondary devices. In this way, the main device displays theremaining bill and can complete payment of the bill, even including atip.

In various exemplary embodiments and with reference to FIG. 6, QR codesare used to assist in dividing the total bill among multiple payors. Inexemplary embodiments, individual QR codes are associated with purchasesin an itemized list. For example, a first column 601 on the bill maylist the items purchase and the price, while a second column 602 on thebill displays the corresponding QR code. Consumers can use theircontactless-enabled devices 120 to read the QR codes of the items theyare paying for and form their own individualized bill. In a similarembodiment, barcodes may be used in place of QR codes. Additionally, invarious embodiments, the system may deactivate a given QR code if aconsumer scans the QR code for an item for which they are paying.Deactivating the QR code eliminates double payment for an itemassociated with the give QR code.

In addition to using the contactless-enabled device 120 to access thenetwork referenced by at least one of the RFID tag or QR code on thecheck presenter, the contactless-enabled device 120 may be used to writea review of the restaurant and the dining experience. For example, aftersubmitting a payment request to the accessed network, an option to writea review may be presented to the contactless-enabled device 120. Theconsumer can select the option to write the review and provide commentsand feedback.

Furthermore, in various embodiments, a consumer may be presented withvarious advertisements or offers. The advertisements may be specificpost-dining options in the nearby area. For example, the consumer mayreceive, on the contactless-enabled device 120, a discount for movietickets at a movie theatre located one mile from the restaurant. Inother various embodiments, the consumer may receive, on thecontactless-enabled device 120, notifications of events in the area. Forexample, the consumer may receive notification that a festival orsporting event is taking place in the area.

Furthermore, in various embodiments, the consumer may receive, on thecontactless-enabled device 120, offers from the current merchant itself.For example, when paying a restaurant bill at a restaurant, the consumermay receive offers for use at the restaurant. The offer may be adiscount on future visits or the like. If the check presenter includes apassive RFID tag, in various embodiments, the contactless-enabled device120 may receive the offer from the payment network 150. If the checkpresenter includes an active RFID tag, in various embodiments, thecontactless-enabled device 120 may receive the offer directly from theactive RFID tag.

In various embodiments, and with reference to FIG. 8, a coordinationserver helps facilitate different processes of contactless restauranttransactions. The coordination server may be integrated into a merchantpoint-of-sale system (software and/or hardware) or the coordinationserver may be separate from the merchant point-of-sale system (softwareand/or hardware). A coordination server is a front-end component thatmay be configured to connect to multiple back-end components, dependingon the system configuration. The various back-end components may includea loyalty server, a payment server, an offer management server, andother relevant back-end servers. In various embodiments, thecoordination server communicates with a back-end server and providesmerchant information, cardmember/customer information, paymentinformation, or other various relevant information. In return, thevarious back-end servers may provide various information to thecoordination server. The various information may include offers thecardmember/customer is eligible for, loyalty account information (e.g.,loyalty discounts), cross-sell opportunities for other items at themerchant, cross-sell opportunities for other merchants thecardmember/customer may be interested in.

In various embodiments, and with reference to FIG. 7, a contactlessrestaurant transaction system 700 comprises a merchant point-of-saleterminal 701, a coordination server 702, a check presenter 703, acontactless-enabled device 704, and a payment processor 705. Thecoordination server 702 may be integrated into merchant point-of-saleterminal 701. Similar to check presenter 110, check presenter 703 mayalso include an RFID tag. The RFID tag may be internal to checkpresenter 703 or may be removably coupled to check presenter 703. TheRFID tag may be a passive tag which is activated by an interrogationsignal from a reader, such as contactless-enabled device 704.

Once a customer at a restaurant indicates that he has decided to notorder additional items, the restaurant check is closed and a total billis tallied at merchant point-of-sale terminal 701. In variousembodiments, merchant point-of-sale terminal 701 passes total billinformation to coordination server 702. The total bill information mayinclude a monetary value and an itemized list of purchases andcorresponding cost. At coordination server 702, the total billinformation is associated with an identifier of the RFID tag of checkpresenter 703. In various embodiments, a record of the total bill andrelated information is stored at coordination server 702, along with theassociated RFID tag identifier. The check presenter is given to theconsumer, who has multiple options to pay the total bill. The optionsinclude cash, check, providing a transaction account code, or submittingpayment using a contactless-enabled device 704.

With continued reference to FIG. 7, in order to submit payment using thecontactless-enabled device, the consumer may provide account informationby “tapping” the contactless-enabled device 704 with check presenterhaving the RFID tag 703. As previously described, the “tapping” motionincludes placing the contactless-enabled device 704 in close proximityto the RFID tag in order for an RF transponder of thecontactless-enabled device 704 to communicate with the RFID tag andreceive the RFID tag's unique identifier and a link to coordinationserver 702. In various embodiments, the contactless-enabled device 704connects to coordination server 702 using the received link via acellular or wireless network.

In various embodiments, the contactless-enabled device 704 transmitspayment information and an RFID tag's unique identifier to coordinationserver 702. The unique identifier is used as a key to locate thecustomer's total bill. In response to the total bill being retrieved,coordination server 702 transmits, to merchant point-of-sale terminal701, the total bill and payment information. In response to the merchantpoint-of-sale terminal 701 receiving the total bill and paymentinformation, a payment authorization request is processed under businessas usual standards to the appropriate payment network for authorization.In general, business as usual standards includes transmitting thepayment authorization request to payment processor 705. Paymentprocessor 705 may include a merchant acquirer in communication withmultiple payment networks. The merchant acquirer facilitatestransmitting the total bill and payment information to an appropriatepayment network for authorization. Stated another way, the merchantacquirer performs payment routing on behalf of the merchant. Theappropriate payment network depends on the payment information providedby the customer and may be any financial transaction institution, suchas a bank, American Express®, Mastercard®, Visa®, or Discover®.

In response to payment authorization, merchant point-of-sale terminal701 receives, from the payment network, notification of theauthorization and passes the notification to coordination server 702. Invarious embodiments, coordination server 702 transmits confirmation ofpayment to contactless-enabled device 704 via the cellular or wirelessnetwork.

In various embodiments, communications take place between thecontactless-enabled device 704 and coordination server 702. In additionto transmitting payment information and RFID tag's unique identifierfrom the contactless-enabled device 704 to coordination server 702,other information may be communicated. For example, a customer mayrevise the total bill amount to include a tip amount before requestingpayment authorization. In one embodiment, a customer may apply adiscount code or rewards points to the total bill. The discount code orrewards points application is communicated to coordination server 702,where the total bill value is adjusted accordingly.

Furthermore, the total bill may be paid using one or more fundingsources. In various embodiments, contactless-enabled device 704 maycontain account information for more than one funding source. A customermay select one of the funding sources to be used to complete thetransaction. In various embodiments, multiple funding sources may beused to complete the transaction. The multiple funding sources may beowned by a single owner or may be owned by multiple owners. In variousembodiments involving multiple funding sources and multiple owners, thetransaction may be completed similar to the process described withrespect to FIG. 5. Moreover, multiple funding sources may be used tofacilitate a payment transaction in similarly related systems describedherein.

In various embodiments, and with reference to FIG. 9, a contactlessrestaurant transaction system 900 may comprise a merchant point-of-saleterminal 901, a stand-alone coordination server 902, a check presenter903, and a contactless-enabled device 904. Similar to check presenter703, check presenter 903 comprises an RFID tag. Further, contactlessrestaurant transaction system 900 is similar to contactless restauranttransaction system 700, except that the coordination server 902 providesa turn-key payment solution to the merchant. In various embodiments,coordination server 902 is separate from merchant point-of-sale terminal901 and includes specific software and hardware.

Certain differences between coordination server 702 and coordinationserver 902 occur after receiving RFID tag's unique identifier andpayment information from contactless enabled device 904. The uniqueidentifier is used as a key to locate the customer's total bill. Inresponse to the total bill being retrieved, coordination server 902transmits the total bill and payment information to a merchant acquirer.The merchant acquirer facilitates transmitting the total bill andpayment information to an appropriate payment network for authorization.Stated another way, the merchant acquirer performs payment routing onbehalf of the merchant. The appropriate payment network depends on thepayment information provided by the customer and may be any financialtransaction institution, such as a bank, American Express®, Mastercard®,Visa®, or Discover®.

In response to payment authorization, coordination server 902 receives,from the payment network, notification of the authorization and passesthe notification to merchant point-of-sale terminal 901. In variousembodiments, coordination server 902 transmits confirmation of paymentto contactless-enabled device 904 via a cellular or wireless network.

In various embodiments, and with reference to FIG. 10, a contactlessrestaurant transaction system 1000 may comprise a merchant point-of-saleterminal 1001, a stand-alone coordination server 1002, a check presenter1003, and a contactless-enabled device 1004. Similar to check presenter1003, check presenter 1003 comprises an RFID tag. Further, contactlessrestaurant transaction system 1000 is similar to contactless restauranttransaction system 700, except that the coordination server 1002provides a turn-key payment solution to the merchant. In variousembodiments, coordination server 1002 is separate from merchantpoint-of-sale terminal 1001 and includes specific software and hardware.

Certain differences between coordination server 702 and coordinationserver 1002 occur after receiving RFID tag's unique identifier andpayment information from contactless enabled device 1004. The uniqueidentifier is used as a key to locate the customer's total bill. Inresponse to the total bill being retrieved, coordination server 1002transmits the total bill and payment information (e.g., directly) to theappropriate payment network for authorization. The appropriate paymentnetwork depends on the payment information provided by the customer andmay be any financial transaction institution, such as a bank, AmericanExpress®, Mastercard®, Visa®, or Discover®.

In response to payment authorization, coordination server 1002 receives,from the payment network, notification of the authorization and passesthe notification to merchant point-of-sale terminal 1001. In variousembodiments, coordination server 1002 transmits confirmation of paymentto contactless-enabled device 1004 via a cellular or wireless network.

In various embodiments, and with reference to FIG. 11, a contactlessrestaurant transaction system 1100 may comprise a merchant point-of-saleterminal 1101, a coordination server 1102, a check presenter 1103, acontactless-enabled device 1104, and a payment processor 1105 incommunication with multiple payment networks 1106. The coordinationserver 1102 may be integrated into merchant point-of-sale terminal 1101.Similar to check presenter 1003, check presenter 1103 also includes anRFID tag having a unique identifier. Further, contactless restauranttransaction system 1100 is similar to contactless restaurant transactionsystem 1000, except that the contactless-enabled device 1104communicates directly with payment processor 1105 via a cellular orwireless network.

In various embodiments, contactless-enabled device 1104 includes aninstalled payment application. Contactless-enabled device 1104 receivesa total bill generated from merchant point-of-sale 1101. In variousembodiments, the total bill may be communicated to contactless-enableddevice 1104 from coordination server 1102 and/or the RFID tag of checkpresenter 1103 if the RFID tag is an active tag. To facilitate paymentof the total bill, contactless-enabled device 1104 transmits the totalbill and payment information, via a cellular or wireless network, topayment processor 1105.

In various embodiments, payment processor 1105 is a payment gateway incommunication with multiple payment networks 1106. The payment gatewaytransmits the total bill and payment information to the appropriatepayment network of multiple payment networks 1106 for authorization. Theappropriate payment network depends on the payment information providedby the customer and may be any financial transaction institution, suchas a bank, American Express®, Mastercard®, Visa®, or Discover®.

Typically, a check presenter is a small black bi-fold holder, whichincludes an RFID tag. The RFID tag is generally a passive tag that ispowered by a nearby reader, such as a contactless-enabled device. Invarious embodiments, a check presenter may be a tablet computer operatedprimary by a touch screen, such as an iPad. A check presenter tabletcomputer may be used in any of the various embodiments described herein.The advantage of the check presenter tablet computer is that the tabletcomputer may be configured to actively communicate with a coordinationserver or payment processor. In other words, instead of acontactless-enabled device performing the communications with acoordination server via a cellular or wireless network, the checkpresenter tablet computer provides the same or similar functionality.

In various embodiments, and with reference to FIG. 12, a contactlessrestaurant transaction system 1200 may comprise a merchant point-of-saleterminal 1201, a coordination server 1202, a check presenter tabletcomputer 1203, and a contactless-enabled device 1204. Similar to thepreviously described embodiments, a total bill is generated at merchantpoint-of-sale terminal 1201 and passed to coordination server 1202. Thecoordination server 1202 associates the total bill with a uniqueidentifier of check presenter tablet computer 1203. Additionally, invarious embodiments, the total bill and related data, such as a merchantidentifier, is loaded onto check presenter tablet computer 1203.

According to various embodiments, check presenter tablet computer 1203communicates with contactless-enabled device 1204 to obtain paymentinformation. Check presenter tablet computer 1203 may be configured tocomplete the transaction in similar manner to previously describedrestaurant transaction systems 700, 900, 1000, 1100, except that checkpresenter tablet computer 1203 transmits the total bill and paymentinformation.

With reference to FIG. 13, computer system 1300 includes at least oneprocessor, such as a processor 1302. Processor 1302 is connected to acommunication infrastructure 1304, for example, a communications bus, across over bar, a network, and/or the like. Various software embodimentsare described in terms of this exemplary computer system 1300. Afterreading this description, it will become apparent to a person skilled inthe relevant art(s) how to implement the present embodiments using othercomputer systems and/or architectures.

The computer system 1300 includes a display interface 1306 that forwardsgraphics, text, and other data from the communication infrastructure1304 for display on a display unit 1308.

The computer system 1300 further includes a main memory 1310, such asrandom access memory (RAM), and may also include a secondary memory1312. The secondary memory 1312 may further include, for example, a harddisk drive 1314 and/or a removable storage drive 1316, representing afloppy disk drive, a magnetic tape drive, an optical disk drive, etc.The removable storage drive 1316 reads from and/or writes to a removablestorage unit 1318 in a well known manner. The removable storage unit1318 may represent a floppy disk, magnetic tape or an optical disk, andmay be read by and written to by the removable storage drive 1316. Aswill be appreciated, the removable storage unit 1318 includes a computerusable storage medium having stored therein, computer software and/ordata.

In accordance with various embodiments, the secondary memory 1312 mayinclude other similar devices for allowing computer programs or otherinstructions to be loaded into the computer system 1300. Such devicesmay include, for example, a removable storage unit 1320, and aninterface 1322. Examples of such may include a program cartridge andcartridge interface (such as that found in video game devices), aremovable memory chip (such as an erasable programmable read only memory(EPROM), or programmable read only memory (PROM)) and associated socket,and other removable storage unit 1320 and interfaces 1322, which allowsoftware and data to be transferred from the removable storage unit 1320to the computer system 1300.

The computer system 1300 may further include a communication interface1324. The communication interface 1324 allows software and data to betransferred between the computer system 1300 and external devices.Examples of the communication interface 1324 include, but may not belimited to a modem, a network interface (such as an Ethernet card), acommunications port, a Personal Computer Memory Card InternationalAssociation (PCMCIA) slot and card, and/or the like. Software and datatransferred via the communication interface 1324 are in the form of aplurality of signals, hereinafter referred to as signals 1326, which maybe electronic, electromagnetic, optical or other signals capable ofbeing received by the communication interface 1324. Signals 1326 areprovided to the communication interface 1324 via a communication path(e.g., channel) 1328. The communication path 1328 carries the signals1326 and may be implemented using wire or cable, fiber optics, atelephone line, a cellular link, a radio frequency (RF) link and othercommunication channels.

In this document, the terms “computer program medium” and “computerusable medium” are used to generally refer to media such as theremovable storage drive 1316, a hard disk installed in hard disk drive1314, signals 1326, and/or the like. These computer program productsprovide software to the computer system 1300. The present disclosure isdirected to such computer program products.

Computer programs (also referred to as computer control logic) arestored in the main memory 1310 and/or the secondary memory 1312.Computer programs may also be received via the communicationinfrastructure 1304. Such computer programs, when executed, enable thecomputer system 1300 to perform the features as discussed herein. Inparticular, the computer programs, when executed, enable the processor1302 to perform the features of the various embodiments. Accordingly,such computer programs represent controllers of the computer system1300.

In accordance with an embodiment implemented using a software, thesoftware may be stored in a computer program product and loaded into thecomputer system 1300 using the removable storage drive 1316, the harddisk drive 1314 or the communication interface 1324. The control logic(software), when executed by the processor 1302, causes the processor1302 to perform the functions as described herein.

The various system components discussed herein may include one or moreof the following: a host server or other computing systems including aprocessor for processing digital data; a memory coupled to the processorfor storing digital data; an input digitizer coupled to the processorfor inputting digital data; an application program stored in the memoryand accessible by the processor for directing processing of digital databy the processor; a display device coupled to the processor and memoryfor displaying information derived from digital data processed by theprocessor; and a plurality of databases. Various databases used hereinmay include: client data; merchant data; financial institution data;and/or like data useful in the operation of the system. As those skilledin the art will appreciate, user computer may include an operatingsystem (e.g., Windows NT, Windows 95/98/2000, Windows XP, Windows Vista,Windows 7, OS2, UNIX, Linux, Solaris, MacOS, etc.) as well as variousconventional support software and drivers typically associated withcomputers. A user may include any individual, business, entity,government organization, software and/or hardware that interact with asystem.

A web client includes any device (e.g., personal computer) whichcommunicates via any network, for example such as those discussedherein. Such browser applications comprise Internet browsing softwareinstalled within a computing unit or a system to conduct onlinetransactions and/or communications. These computing units or systems maytake the form of a computer or set of computers, although other types ofcomputing units or systems may be used, including laptops, notebooks,hand held computers, personal digital assistants, set-top boxes,workstations, computer-servers, main frame computers, mini-computers, PCservers, pervasive computers, network sets of computers, personalcomputers, such as iPads, iMACs, and MacBooks, kiosks, terminals, pointof sale (POS) devices and/or terminals, televisions, or any other devicecapable of receiving data over a network. A web-client may run MicrosoftInternet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, Apple Safari, or anyother of the myriad software packages available for browsing theinterne.

Practitioners will appreciate that a web client may or may not be indirect contact with an application server. For example, a web client mayaccess the services of an application server through another serverand/or hardware component, which may have a direct or indirectconnection to an Internet server. For example, a web client maycommunicate with an application server via a load balancer. In anexemplary embodiment, access is through a network or the Internetthrough a commercially-available web-browser software package.

As those skilled in the art will appreciate, a web client includes anoperating system (e.g., Windows NT, 95/98/2000/CE/Mobile, OS2, UNIX,Linux, Solaris, MacOS, PalmOS, etc.) as well as various conventionalsupport software and drivers typically associated with computers. A webclient may include any suitable personal computer, network computer,workstation, personal digital assistant, cellular phone, smart phone,minicomputer, mainframe or the like. A web client can be in a home orbusiness environment with access to a network. In an exemplaryembodiment, access is through a network or the Internet through acommercially available web-browser software package. A web client mayimplement security protocols such as Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) andTransport Layer Security (TLS). A web client may implement severalapplication layer protocols including http, https, ftp, and sftp.

In an embodiment, various components, modules, and/or engines of system100 may be implemented as micro-applications or micro-apps. Micro-appsare typically deployed in the context of a mobile operating system,including for example, a Palm mobile operating system, a Windows mobileoperating system, an Android Operating System, Apple iOS, a Blackberryoperating system and the like. The micro-app may be configured toleverage the resources of the larger operating system and associatedhardware via a set of predetermined rules which govern the operations ofvarious operating systems and hardware resources. For example, where amicro-app desires to communicate with a device or network other than themobile device or mobile operating system, the micro-app may leverage thecommunication protocol of the operating system and associated devicehardware under the predetermined rules of the mobile operating system.Moreover, where the micro-app desires an input from a user, themicro-app may be configured to request a response from the operatingsystem which monitors various hardware components and then communicatesa detected input from the hardware to the micro-app.

As used herein, the term “network” includes any cloud, cloud computingsystem or electronic communications system or method which incorporateshardware and/or software components. Communication among the parties maybe accomplished through any suitable communication channels, such as,for example, a telephone network, an extranet, an intranet, Internet,point of interaction device (point of sale device, personal digitalassistant (e.g., iPhone®, Palm Pilot®, Blackberry®), cellular phone,kiosk, etc.), online communications, satellite communications, off-linecommunications, wireless communications, transponder communications,local area network (LAN), wide area network (WAN), virtual privatenetwork (VPN), networked or linked devices, keyboard, mouse and/or anysuitable communication or data input modality. Moreover, although thesystem is frequently described herein as being implemented with TCP/IPcommunications protocols, the system may also be implemented using IPX,Appletalk, IP-6, NetBIOS, OSI, any tunneling protocol (e.g. IPsec, SSH),or any number of existing or future protocols. If the network is in thenature of a public network, such as the Internet, it may be advantageousto presume the network to be insecure and open to eavesdroppers.Specific information related to the protocols, standards, andapplication software utilized in connection with the Internet isgenerally known to those skilled in the art and, as such, need not bedetailed herein. See, for example, Dilip Naik, Internet Standards andProtocols (1998); Java 2 Complete, various authors, (Sybex 1999);Deborah Ray and Eric Ray, Mastering HTML 4.0 (1997); and Loshin, TCP/IPClearly Explained (1997) and David Gourley and Brian Totty, HTTP, TheDefinitive Guide (2002), the contents of which are hereby incorporatedby reference.

The various system components may be independently, separately orcollectively suitably coupled to the network via data links whichincludes, for example, a connection to an Internet Service Provider(ISP) over the local loop as is typically used in connection withstandard modem communication, cable modem, Dish networks, ISDN, DigitalSubscriber Line (DSL), or various wireless communication methods, see,e.g., Gilbert Held, Understanding Data Communications (1996), which ishereby incorporated by reference. It is noted that the network may beimplemented as other types of networks, such as an interactivetelevision (ITV) network. Moreover, the system contemplates the use,sale or distribution of any goods, services or information over anynetwork having similar functionality described herein.

“Cloud” or “Cloud computing” includes a model for enabling convenient,on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computingresources (e.g., networks, servers, storage, applications, and services)that can be rapidly provisioned and released with minimal managementeffort or service provider interaction. Cloud computing may includelocation-independent computing, whereby shared servers provideresources, software, and data to computers and other devices on demand.For more information regarding cloud computing, see the NIST's (NationalInstitute of Standards and Technology) definition of cloud computing athttp://csrc.nist.gov/groups/SNS/cloud-computing/cloud-def-v15.doc (lastvisited Feb. 4, 2011), which is hereby incorporated by reference in itsentirety.

“Entity” may include any individual, consumer, consumer, group,business, organization, government entity, transaction account issuer orprocessor (e.g., credit, charge, etc), merchant, consortium ofmerchants, consumer, account holder, charitable organization, software,hardware, and/or any other entity.

A “transaction account” may include any account that may be used tofacilitate a financial transaction. A financial institution ortransaction account issuer includes any entity that offers transactionaccount services to consumers. Although often referred to as a“financial institution,” the financial institution may represent anytype of bank, lender or other type of account issuing institution, suchas credit card companies, card sponsoring companies, or third partyissuers under contract with financial institutions. It is further notedthat other participants may be involved in some phases of thetransaction, such as an intermediary settlement institution, but theseparticipants are not shown.

The transaction account number may be distributed and stored in any formof plastic, electronic, magnetic, radio frequency, wireless, audioand/or optical device capable of transmitting or downloading data fromitself to a second device. A consumer account number may be, forexample, a sixteen-digit account number, although each credit providerhas its own numbering system, such as the fifteen-digit numbering systemused by American Express. Each company's account numbers comply withthat company's standardized format such that the company using afifteen-digit format will generally use three-spaced sets of numbers, asrepresented by the number “0000 000000 00000”. The first five to sevendigits are reserved for processing purposes and identify the issuingbank, account type, etc. In this example, the last (fifteenth) digit isused as a sum check for the fifteen digit number. The intermediaryeight-to-eleven digits are used to uniquely identify the consumer. Amerchant account number may be, for example, any number or alpha-numericcharacters that identify a particular merchant for purposes of accountacceptance, account reconciliation, reporting, or the like.

Phrases and terms similar to “financial institution” or “transactionaccount issuer” may include any entity that offers transaction accountservices. Although often referred to as a “financial institution,” thefinancial institution may represent any type of bank, lender or othertype of account issuing institution, such as credit card companies, cardsponsoring companies, or third party issuers under contract withfinancial institutions. It is further noted that other participants maybe involved in some phases of the transaction, such as an intermediarysettlement institution. The financial institution may include any entitywhich processes transactions, issues accounts, acquires financialinformation, settles accounts, conducts dispute resolution regardingaccounts, and/or the like.

The term “merchant” shall include any person, entity, charitableorganization, machine, software, hardware, and/or the like that thatoffers a product or service to a consumer. As used herein, the term“merchant” is used interchangeably with the term “retailer,” “supplier”or “seller”. Moreover, in this context, a merchant may offer or sell,either online or offline, products and/or services made or supplied byat least one manufacturer. As used herein, the phrases “network level”and “network-wide level” shall refer to a system that includes more thanone merchant and at least one manufacturer. The merchant's computersystem may also be interconnected to a third-party provider via a secondnetwork, referred to as a payment network. The payment networkrepresents existing proprietary networks that presently accommodatetransactions for credit cards, debit cards, and other types of financialinstruments or banking cards. The payment network is a closed networkthat is assumed to be secure from eavesdroppers. Examples of the paymentnetwork include the American Express®, VisaNet®, and the Veriphone®networks.

As used herein, the terms “consumer”, “consumer”, “purchaser”, and“end-user” may be used interchangeably with each other, and each shallmean any person, entity, charitable organization, or business which usesa consumer ID to participate in the present system. A “consumer ID”, asused herein, includes any device, code, or other identifier suitablyconfigured to allow the consumer to interact or communicate with thesystem, such as, for example, a rewards card, charge card, credit card,debit card, prepaid card, telephone card, smart card, magnetic stripecard, bar code card, authorization/access code, personal identificationnumber (PIN), Internet code, other identification code, and/or the like.Additionally, a “consumer ID” may comprise any form of electronic,magnetic, and/or optical device capable of transmitting or downloadingdata from itself to a second device which is capable of interacting andcommunicating with such forms of consumer ID.

“Transaction data”, as used herein, comprises data relating to the offerof any item to a consumer or other end-user. Purchase data may includeany of the following: an item purchased, an item price, a number ofitems purchased, a total transaction price, a payment vehicle, a date, astore identifier, an employee identifier, a retailer item identifier, aloyalty identifier, and/or the like.

In various embodiments, the present disclosure is implemented primarilyin hardware using, for example, hardware components such as applicationspecific integrated circuits (ASIC). Implementation of the hardwarestate machine so as to perform the functions described herein will beapparent to persons skilled in the relevant art(s).

In yet another embodiment, the present disclosure is implemented using acombination of both the hardware and the software.

Systems, methods and computer program products are provided. In thedetailed description herein, references to “one embodiment”, “anembodiment”, “an example embodiment”, etc., indicate that the embodimentdescribed may include a particular feature, structure, orcharacteristic, but every embodiment may not necessarily include theparticular feature, structure, or characteristic. Moreover, such phrasesare not necessarily referring to the same embodiment. Further, when aparticular feature, structure, or characteristic is described inconnection with an embodiment, it is submitted that it is within theknowledge of one skilled in the art to effect such feature, structure,or characteristic in connection with other embodiments whether or notexplicitly described. After reading the description, it will be apparentto one skilled in the relevant art(s) how to implement the disclosure inalternative embodiments.

While various embodiments of the present disclosure have been describedabove, it should be understood that they have been presented by way ofexample, and not limitation. It will be apparent to persons skilled inthe relevant art(s) that various changes in form and detail can be madetherein without departing from the spirit and scope of the presentdisclosure. Thus, the present disclosure should not be limited by any ofthe above described exemplary embodiments, but should be defined only inaccordance with the following claims and their equivalents.

In addition, it should be understood that the figures illustrated in theattachments, which highlight the functionality and advantages of thepresent disclosure, are presented for example purposes only. Thearchitecture of the present disclosure is sufficiently flexible andconfigurable, such that it may be utilized (and navigated) in ways otherthan that shown in the accompanying figures. The detailed description ofexemplary embodiments herein makes reference to the accompanyingdrawings and figures, which show the exemplary embodiments by way ofillustration only. While these exemplary embodiments are described insufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art, it should beunderstood that other embodiments may be realized and that logicalelectrical, organization, and programming-related changes may be madewithout departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure. It willbe apparent to a person skilled in the pertinent art that thisdisclosure can also be employed in a variety of other applications.Thus, the detailed description herein is presented for purposes ofillustration only and not of limitation. For example, the steps recitedin any of the method or process descriptions may be executed in anyorder.

The present disclosure is described herein with reference to blockdiagrams and flowchart illustrations of methods, and computer programproducts according to various aspects of the disclosure. It will beunderstood that each functional block of the block diagrams and theflowchart illustrations, and combinations of functional blocks in theblock diagrams and flowchart illustrations, respectively, can beimplemented by computer program instructions.

These computer program instructions may be loaded onto a general purposecomputer, special purpose computer, or other programmable dataprocessing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructionsthat execute on the computer or other programmable data processingapparatus create means for implementing the functions specified in theflowchart block or blocks. These computer program instructions may alsobe stored in a computer-readable memory that can direct a computer orother programmable data processing apparatus to function in a particularmanner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readablememory produce an article of manufacture including instruction meanswhich implement the function specified in the flowchart block or blocks.The computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer orother programmable data processing apparatus to cause a series ofoperational steps to be performed on the computer or other programmableapparatus to produce a computer-implemented process such that theinstructions which execute on the computer or other programmableapparatus provide steps for implementing the functions specified in theflowchart block or blocks.

Accordingly, functional blocks of the block diagrams and flow diagramillustrations support combinations of means for performing the specifiedfunctions, combinations of steps for performing the specified functions,and program instruction means for performing the specified functions. Itwill also be understood that each functional block of the block diagramsand flowchart illustrations, and combinations of functional blocks inthe block diagrams and flowchart illustrations, can be implemented byeither special purpose hardware-based computer systems which perform thespecified functions or steps, or suitable combinations of specialpurpose hardware and computer instructions.

Benefits, other advantages, and solutions to problems have beendescribed herein with regard to specific embodiments. However, thebenefits, advantages, solutions to problems, and any element(s) that maycause any benefit, advantage, or solution to occur or become morepronounced are not to be construed as critical, required, or essentialfeatures or elements of any or all the claims or the disclosure. Itshould be understood that the detailed description and specificexamples, indicating exemplary embodiments of the system, are given forpurposes of illustration only and not as limitations. Many changes andmodifications within the scope of the instant disclosure may be madewithout departing from the spirit thereof, and the disclosure includesall such modifications. Corresponding structures, materials, acts, andequivalents of all elements in the claims below are intended to includeany structure, material, or acts for performing the functions incombination with other claim elements as specifically claimed. The scopeof the disclosure should be determined by the appended claims and theirlegal equivalents, rather than by the examples given above. Reference toan element in the singular is not intended to mean “one and only one”unless explicitly so stated, but rather “one or more.” Moreover, where aphrase similar to at least one of A, B, and C is used in the claims, itis intended that the phrase be interpreted to mean that A alone may bepresent in an embodiment, B alone may be present in an embodiment, Calone may be present in an embodiment, or that any combination of theelements A, B and C may be present in a single embodiment; for example,A and B, A and C, B and C, or A and B and C.

1. A check presenter apparatus comprising: a radio frequency identifier(RFID) tag with a unique identifier; wherein the unique identifier isassociated with a total bill at a coordination server; wherein acontactless-enabled device in proximity to the check presenter apparatusreads the unique identifier from the RFID tag; and wherein thecontactless-enabled device transmits payment information and the uniqueidentifier to facilitate contactless payment of the total bill.
 2. Thecheck presenter apparatus of claim 1, wherein the RFID tag is a passivetag.
 3. The check presenter apparatus of claim 2, wherein thecontactless-enabled device interrogates the RFID tag to receive theunique identifier and a payment network link.
 4. A check presenterapparatus comprising: a quick response (QR) code with a uniqueidentifier; wherein the unique identifier is associated with a totalbill at a coordination server; wherein a contactless-enabled device inproximity to the check presenter apparatus reads the unique identifierfrom the QR code; and wherein the contactless-enabled device transmitspayment information and the unique identifier to facilitate contactlesspayment of the total bill.
 5. The check presenter apparatus of claim 4,wherein the check presenter apparatus further comprises a plurality ofitemized QR codes, each of the plurality of itemized QR codes having aunique identifier, and wherein each of the plurality of itemized QRcodes is associated with a specific item of the total bill.
 6. Thecontactless payment system of claim 4, wherein the contactless-enableddevice reads a payment network link from the QR code.
 7. A coordinationserver of a contactless payment system comprising: a processorconfigured for merchant transactions, a tangible, non-transitory memoryconfigured to communicate with the processor, the tangible,non-transitory memory having instructions stored thereon that, inresponse to execution by the processor, cause the processor to performoperations comprising: receiving, at the coordination server, a totalbill of purchases for a customer from a merchant point-of-sale terminal;associating, by the coordination server, the total bill of purchaseswith a unique identifier of a radio frequency identification tag of acheck presenter; and receiving, at the coordination server, notificationthat payment of the total bill of purchases is authorized.
 8. Thecoordination server of claim 7, further comprising notifying themerchant point-of-sale terminal that payment of the total bill ofpurchases is authorized.
 9. The coordination server of claim 8, furthercomprising notifying a contactless-enabled device that payment of thetotal bill of purchases is authorized, wherein the contactless-enableddevice provides payment information to facilitate payment of the totalbill of purchases.
 10. The coordination server of claim 7, wherein thecoordination server is in communication with multiple back-end servers,and wherein the multiple back-end servers include at least one of aloyalty server, a payment server, and an offer management server. 11.The coordination server of claim 7, wherein the coordination server isintegrated into the merchant point-of-sale terminal.
 12. Thecoordination server of claim 7, wherein the coordination server isseparate from the merchant point-of-sale terminal.
 13. The coordinationserver of claim 7, further comprising: receiving, at the coordinationserver, the unique identifier of the RFID tag and payment informationfrom a contactless-enabled device; locating, by the coordination server,the total bill using the unique identifier as a key; and transmitting,from the coordination server, the payment information and the total billto the merchant point-of-sale terminal; wherein the merchantpoint-of-sale terminal transmits the payment information and the totalbill to a merchant acquirer for completion.
 14. The coordination serverof claim 13, wherein the payment information is transmitted from thecontactless-enabled device to the coordination server using at least ofa cellular or wireless network.
 15. The coordination server of claim 7,further comprising receiving, at the coordination server, the uniqueidentifier of the RFID tag and payment information from acontactless-enabled device; locating, by the coordination server, thetotal bill using the unique identifier as a key; and transmitting, fromthe coordination server, the payment information and the total bill to amerchant acquirer.
 16. The coordination server of claim 15, wherein themerchant acquirer routes the payment request to an appropriate paymentnetwork, and wherein the appropriate payment network is selected basedon the payment information from the contactless-enabled device.
 17. Thecoordination server of claim 7, further comprising: receiving, at thecoordination server, the unique identifier of the RFID tag and paymentinformation from a contactless-enabled device. locating, by thecoordination server, the total bill using the unique identifier as akey; and transmitting, from the coordination server, the paymentinformation and the total bill to an appropriate payment network,wherein the appropriate payment network is selected based on the paymentinformation from the contactless-enabled device.
 18. A methodcomprising: receiving, at the coordination server of a contactlesspayment system, a total bill of purchases for a customer from a merchantpoint-of-sale terminal; associating, by the coordination server, thetotal bill of purchases with a unique identifier of a radio frequencyidentification tag of a check presenter; and receiving, at thecoordination server, notification that payment of the total bill ofpurchases is authorized.
 19. The method of claim 18, further comprising:receiving, at the coordination server, the unique identifier of the RFIDtag and payment information from a contactless-enabled device; locating,by the coordination server, the total bill using the unique identifieras a key; and transmitting, from the coordination server, the paymentinformation and the total bill to a merchant acquirer.
 20. The method ofclaim 19, wherein the merchant acquirer routes the payment request to anappropriate payment network, and wherein the appropriate payment networkis selected based on the payment information from thecontactless-enabled device.
 21. The method of claim 18, furthercomprising: receiving, at the coordination server, the unique identifierof the RFID tag and payment information from a contactless-enableddevice; locating, by the coordination server, the total bill using theunique identifier as a key; and transmitting, from the coordinationserver, the payment information and the total bill to an appropriatepayment network, wherein the appropriate payment network is selectedbased on the payment information from the contactless-enabled device.22. The method of claim 18, further comprising notifying the merchantpoint-of-sale terminal that payment of the total bill of purchases isauthorized.
 23. The method of claim 18, further comprising notifying acontactless-enabled device that payment of the total bill of purchasesis authorized, wherein the contactless-enabled device provides paymentinformation to facilitate payment of the total bill of purchases. 24.The method of claim 19, wherein the contactless-enabled device is asmartphone.